That 12v battery (again!)

[Roy124]

@Chas. As you clearly want a plug in hybrid you could opt for a dual mains or solar solution.  The latter would enable 24 hour charging ability. 

What I suggest is a 24 foot pole, available from a well known online sales outlet.  Mount a solar panel on top.  Also run a 12v cable from mains charger to the solar charger and connect in parallel.  You will need a heavy duty cable to minimise energy loss.

Then simply connect the car to the one lead.  The advantage of this setup means you can also fly the appropriate national flag on applicable saints days.

[Countryside]

My goodness Colin that’s done well is it the dreaded Turkish Battery in yours ?

[Countryside]

1 minute ago, Roy124 said:

@Chas. As you clearly want a plug in hybrid you could opt for a dual mains or solar solution.  The latter would enable 24 hour charging ability. 

What I suggest is a 24 foot pole, available from a well known online sales outlet.  Mount a solar panel on top.  Also run a 12v cable from mains charger to the solar charger and connect in parallel.  You will need a heavy duty cable to minimise energy loss.

Then simply connect the car to the one lead.  The advantage of this setup means you can also fly the appropriate national flag on applicable saints days.

😁👍

[CPN]

10 minutes ago, Countryside said:

My goodness Colin that’s done well is it the dreaded Turkish battery in yours ?

Yes. Here's a photo...

[CPN]

Car has been stood unused for the last 48 hrs. Here's the current Battery voltage...

No-one can make the blanket statement that "they are all bad"!

[CPN]

I'll anticipate your next question: What was the last journey it did?

Answer: a 2-mile round trip to the local shops and it stood idle for 3 days before that ...😉

[Dala]

14 minutes ago, CPN said:

Car has been stood unused for the last 48 hrs. Here's the current battery voltage...

No-one can make the blanket statement that "they are all bad"!

Hi Colin, have you linked the car to Toyota's servers? Are you or are you not using the tracking, tracing and locating app? 

[CPN]

6 minutes ago, Dala said:

Hi Colin, have you linked the car to Toyota's servers? Are you or are you not using the tracking, tracing and locating app? 

If you mean the "MyToyota" app then yes. What's your point?

It's been hooked up to that since they started building it back in July 2020...

[Dala]

6 minutes ago, CPN said:

If you mean the "MyToyota" app then yes. What's your point?

I was thinking about the higher power consumption when connecting to satellites. More active DCM? 

[Countryside]

Well said Colin 

[Mojo1010]

24 minutes ago, CPN said:

Car has been stood unused for the last 48 hrs. Here's the current battery voltage...

No-one can make the blanket statement that "they are all bad"!

Mine is about same voltage after 2 days when previous state is full at 12.8v, though the car is fairly recent at 7 months. 

40 minutes ago, Roy124 said:

@Chas. As you clearly want a plug in hybrid you could opt for a dual mains or solar solution.  The latter would enable 24 hour charging ability. 

What I suggest is a 24 foot pole, available from a well known online sales outlet.  Mount a solar panel on top.  Also run a 12v cable from mains charger to the solar charger and connect in parallel.  You will need a heavy duty cable to minimise energy loss.

Then simply connect the car to the one lead.  The advantage of this setup means you can also fly the appropriate national flag on applicable saints days.

It's worth it for not carry all those jump start gears that Chas has hoarded. 

[CPN]

16 minutes ago, Dala said:

I was thinking about the higher power consumption when connecting to satellites. More active DCM? 

Connecting to satellites??? The emergency unit communicates via the cell tower network via a built-in SIM card. (and is how MyToyota gets its data...)

DCM??? Device Control Management? What? There are a gazillion meanings of that acronym!

[Andrew Harrison]

1 hour ago, mr_blibby said:

Hi... In the process of replacing my Arona and was about to press the button on the new Premiere version, but being put off by all the battery issues ... dont do many long runs and prob less than 5k a year, so could be an issue for me ...  

I found these videos useful in explaining the issue if not already been posted

 

Very useful videos and confirms my experiences with mine.

A couple of things I would add is when checking the voltage with the voltmeter the car has to be off for 15 to 30 mins before turning to accessory mode and 12.7 is 100%, 12.0 is 50% and 10.5 is 0%

My Yaris is a 2021 and while I would it is a really brilliant car in every other way, I would have not have bought it if I had known about this Battery issue as I only do 4000 miles a year.

The dealers must know about these unfit for purpose batteries but keep sending owners away

I got my Battery replaced because I had a voltmeter and could prove it wouldn't take a full charge and I now make sure it doesn't get low but if it fails again I will get myself the recommended yuasa from Halfords.

There must be many thousands like the lady in the first video at their wits end.

To low mileage prospective buyers I would say get yourself something like a Mazda 2

[Chas G]

@mr_blibby aha. I think I read your post on the toyota.co.uk forum.

I would look for something other than a hybrid unless you have a garage and are happy to plug in every night to a charger like I do and are prepared to book holiday flights from an airport within a taxi ride of where you live.

Lots of time on the road and a toyota hybrid is an excellent choice.

Short journeys + low mileage = flat 12 volt Battery.

Ps I had a toyota yaris D4D which was amazingly economical on fuel.

 

[gep]

3 minutes ago, Andrew Harrison said:

To low mileage prospective buyers I would say get yourself something like a Mazda 2

Just wanted to say thanks for this and to all contributors to this thread and others like it on the forum. I was considering a Yaris Cross until I read about the 12v situation (I'm aware this impacts other brands too) but given that I do less than 2,500 miles per year and rarely do journeys longer than 10-15 miles / 20 mins I think it wouldn't be the best fit and I'd worry that I'd have issues.

I was going to post to ask whether doing things like disabling keyless entry (I'd do that by preference anyway) and following the advice elsewhere on the forum re: saving energy should stand me in good stead but from what I've read I don't think so. It is a shame as the Cross ticks many boxes but I guess I need to accept that hybrids aren't suitable for me and move on. Funny you mention a Mazda 2 as I'm looking to replace a Mazda 3! The search continues...

[Countryside]

11 minutes ago, Andrew Harrison said:

Very useful videos and confirms my experiences with mine.

A couple of things I would add is when checking the voltage with the voltmeter the car has to be off for 15 to 30 mins before turning to accessory mode and 12.7 is 100%, 12.0 is 50% and 10.5 is 0%

My Yaris is a 2021 and while I would it is a really brilliant car in every other way, I would have not have bought it if I had known about this battery issue as I only do 4000 miles a year.

The dealers must know about these unfit for purpose batteries but keep sending owners away

I got my battery replaced because I had a voltmeter and could prove it wouldn't take a full charge and I now make sure it doesn't get low but if it fails again I will get myself the recommended yuasa from Halfords.

There must be many thousands like the lady in the first video at their wits end.

To low mileage prospective buyers I would say get yourself something like a Mazda 2

Hasn’t the Mazda 2 got the same Battery as the Yaris both built at same place ?

[Countryside]

7 minutes ago, Chas G said:

@mr_blibby aha. I think I read your post on the toyota.co.uk forum.

I would look for something other than a hybrid unless you have a garage and are happy to plug in every night to a charger like I do and are prepared to book holiday flights from an airport within a taxi ride of where you live.

Lots of time on the road and a toyota hybrid is an excellent choice.

Short journeys + low mileage = flat 12 volt battery.

 

Is my 8000 miles a year a low mileage ?

[Chas G]

3 minutes ago, Countryside said:

Is my 8000 miles a year a low mileage ?

Not necessarily a low mileage. It's the time in ready/drive mode not the distance that seems to matter, giving the Battery long enough to charge.

[jthspace]

16 minutes ago, Countryside said:

Is my 8000 miles a year a low mileage ?

I would say not.  More than me.  I do mainly local trips 5 to 10 miles max 4 or 5 times a week.  Never had a Battery issue since changing to the Yuasa Battery.

[hind]

Just got back from a short trip abroad. Yaris left parked for 5 days. Measured voltage = 11V just after unlocking doors and opening the bonnet, 11.7V 30 minutes later. Didn't try to start - I knew what happened last time I did that 😄

Put it on charge instead, we will see how much would fit inside 🙂 Pumped 9Ah already and the current fell to 1A, capped by the 14.4V limit. 

[Roy124]

1 hour ago, CPN said:

DCM??? Device Control Management? What? There are a gazillion meanings of that acronym!

Data Communication Module- store limited to 2 000 data points which approximates to around 3 hours driving.

[Chas G]

10 minutes ago, jthspace said:

I would say not.  More than me.  I do mainly local trips 5 to 10 miles max 4 or 5 times a week.  Never had a battery issue since changing to the Yuasa battery.

If it was the Multu Battery that was the problem wouldn't Toyota have changed supplier.

I have seem loads of posts from owners of hybrids from different manufacturers complaining of the same problem. I have no reason to believe the other manufacturers are also using Multu batteries.

[Tommy X]

These 13 pages of Battery woes could be added to the 88 pages of Battery woes and make it over a century break 

[CPN]

52 minutes ago, Andrew Harrison said:

A couple of things I would add is when checking the voltage with the voltmeter the car has to be off for 15 to 30 mins before turning to accessory mode and 12.7 is 100%, 12.0 is 50% and 10.5 is 0%

Not strictly correct. Standard 12v Battery construction = 6 cells each at 2.2v fully charged = 13.2v (obviously when brand new)

[CPN]

12 minutes ago, hind said:

Just got back from a short trip abroad. Yaris left parked for 5 days. Measured voltage = 11V just after unlocking doors and opening the bonnet, 11.7V 30 minutes later. Didn't try to start - I knew what happened last time I did that 😄

Mine went down to a tad below 11v once (10.8v) and it started on the first push of the button... So, your Battery must have been really bad...